Art and the Book
The history of Jewish art is bound up with the history of the Jewish book. The Talmudic concept of hiddur mitzvah, or “beautification of the commandments,” encourages the creation of sacred art, and from the beginning, textual and scribal arts formed the basis of Jewish visual expression.
In the modern era, the introduction of the printing press furthered the bond between the Jewish visual artist and the page, while paper-based Jewish folk arts such as paper-cutting and micrography benefited from the new abundance of paper ushered in by the rise of publishing.
Much of this exhibition falls under the category of “Jewish art,” but the items displayed here were chosen to highlight a few recurrent themes in the long relationship between Jewish art and the book:
- Hiddur Mitzvah
- Modernity and Design
- Jewish Book as Incidental Art
Hiddur Mitzvah: Beautification of the Commandments
Modernity and Design
Jewish Book as Incidental Art
